Done for now

Well, I’ve been busy making jams and pickles and salsas and conserves and chutneys. . . my kitchen has been a mess for weeks and the canner’s been sitting on the stove along with my big jelly pot.

I’ve got tons of produce yet to take care of, but I feel sort of exhausted from all the “putting up” I’ve been doing on evenings and weekends. I know it’s totally my choice–I don’t “need” to do it, I just enjoy it. There’s something just so elementally satisfying about putting things by for winter. It must be the Norwegian pioneer in my blood.

But, for now, I think I’ve had enough. I made a batch of salsa yesterday with all my wonderful fresh garden tomatoes, and felt totally. . . I don’t know. . . underhanded or lazy or something when I froze it instead of processing it in the canner. I just wanted my kitchen to be clean, you know what I mean? We don’t have the space for storing all the canning supplies in our very small, galley-style kitchen, so it’s up and down the basement stairs whenever there’s canning going on. Which I’m sure is good for me. But after a while. . . I just want to be done.

I’ve been very productive–I’ve re-stocked my pickle shelf and my jam shelf and put quite a few jars back on my salsa shelf.

And this kitchen might seem very run-of-the-mill (it is). . . .

But it’s clean. Really, fairly clean. And I’m really enjoying it. I think, the next time I have produce to take care of (probably tomorrow), I’m getting out the freezer containers again.